DISCLAIMER: Whilst the Wicked characters aren't my property or creation, Fiyero's ancestors are.
AN. Work is ALL kinds of crazy right now, so there's little time/energy for writing. But there's this! Something different.
Sarisha Dahl-Tiggular
(1551-1609)
Reigned from 1570-1609.
Draft 1:
Fiyero Tiggular
HIST362
'Queen Sarisha's Marriage Agreement was a successful cornerstone of Vinkun foreign policy'. How far do you agree?
Well, it led to a seventy-seven-year long war. So… not very? What does that even mean? "How far do you agree?" Like… on a scale of one to ten?
Because I don't know… a two?
The End
[E: THIS IS NOT EVEN ANYWHERE CLOSE TO 1200 WORDS!]
Draft 2:
Fiyero Tiggular
HIST362
'Queen Sarisha's Marriage Agreement was a successful cornerstone of Vinkun foreign policy'. How far do you agree?
The Ozian dictionary defines happy as "feeling or showing pleasure or contentment."
Someone really should have explained that to Ugabian King Tibost and Queen Missa.
[E: Fiyero, what the hell are you doing? TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY- THIS ESSAY IS 40% OF YOUR FINAL GRADE.]
Draft 3:
Fiyero Tiggular
HIST362
'Queen Sarisha's Marriage Agreement was a successful cornerstone of Vinkun foreign policy'. How far do you agree?
[E: You need a stronger introduction here- one that actually mentions the question] Queen Sarisha and King Jove had six children, but only four lived to adulthood. Of those four, Sarisha had a hand in arranging two of their marriages- although to be fair to her, she was dead before the other two were married. Although she did introduce one of the other couples.
The marriage between her fifth child, Prince Averitt to Lady Tatsy Hutch of Fliaan in 1608 was pretty smart. Tatsy was the daughter of first Earl of Annsel and her father had arranged for her to marry some Fliaan Duke, whose name I can't remember and my dad hasn't gotten back to me yet when I asked. [E: You can't say that. Your Dad is not a source!] He died on their honeymoon in some accident, which I think involved a bear (again, waiting for my dad to confirm this) [E: How is that relevant?]. Anyway, he was not even cold in the ground before Sarisha had arranged for the now widowed Duchess of Whoever [E: NO] to marry Prince Averitt.
This was a good match because the dukedom generated a lot of its income from the production of iron and steel. Tatsy, as the duchess, now controlled all that. Because the Vinkus imported a whole bunch of both iron and steel from Fliaan, this worked out well. I think we got discount now or something. So, that all worked out. [E: Tie this point back to the question. And word it differently.]
In 1605, Queen Sarisha met with Ugabian Queen Merhild to arrange a marriage between her third child, Princess Missa and Ugabian Crown Prince Tibost. The deal was that if the marriage was a happy one and produced at least one heir, when Tibost took the throne, Ugabu and the Vinkus would unite. Missa and Tibost were married in November, 1605 and their only child, Tibost II was born in December 1606. So, I guess that covers the "produce an heir" part of the agreement. [E: STOP. Do you hate me? Because it feels like you hate me for making me read this.]
Tibost came to the Ugabian throne in 1617, and as promised per the marriage agreement, worked with King Iason to unite the Vinkus and Ugabu. Which was mostly setting up the dual monarchy with parliament and finances, etc. [E: Don't write "etc." Either add more detail or cut it out.]
The criterion of the marriage being a happy one is harder to judge though. Tibost had five illegitimate children (that we know of), three of whom were born after his marriage to Missa. So I highly doubt that she felt the marriage was a happy one. But she did stick it out for twenty-seven years, so who am I to judge? Some people have a really high tolerance for putting up with crap. [You are giving me a migraine from reading this.]
Some say that Missa stayed because she felt like she owed it to her mother- knowing how important it was to her that Ugabu and the Vinkus be at peace and united, given everything. [E: Source?] Or that she didn't know about the kids for most of their marriage, and it was only when she found out about them that she left. I've been told a lot of things about how to run a kingdom and what being royal means. How to hide illegitimate children from everyone (including your wife) has not been one of them, but I guess that's not something they want to encouragerise. [E: I am going to KILL you. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?]
When King Iason died in 1632, Missa returned to the Vinkus for her brother's funeral, accompanied by her son. Stumble (1892) has posited the theory that King Tibost did not attend the funeral because he and Iason did not get along. Spelman (1907) claims that this was because Iason owed him a lot of money from gambling, but I don't buy that [E: You were doing so well until this point]- because Tibost doesn't sound like he was any fun from the stories I've heard, and he'd outlawed gambling in Fliaan so why would he gamble with Iason? (Gambling, no. Cheating on your wife, sure. The guy was a jerk, is my point. No sources needed). [E: There is no word in the Ozian language to describe the sound I just made reading that sentence]
My theory is he disapproved of Iason gambling and considering the rumours that Iason was killed by people who he did owe money too, he wasn't exactly rushing to mourn the guy. There's also a theory that Tibost didn't attend the funeral because he was getting a jump start on illegitimate kid number six. [E: Corin is not a reliable source. Do not use this]
Bemrose hypothesises that Tibost knew his wife wasn't going to return and was already making preparations for war. And when she's written a whole book on your family history, I'm going to give her theories more weight than most. [E: No. Cut this out]
Missa refused to return to Ugabu after the funeral. "Tired of hearing the court whisper about who was in her husband's bed-" (I'm guessing it wasn't her) [E: FIYERO] "-and having to hold her head high while everyone pretended the newborn baby being festivated didn't have her husband's eyes, Missa decided to reclaim her dignity and leave her husband." (Bemrose, 1926)
However, while divorce among royalty had been allowed in the Vinkus since 1534, it was not allowed in Ugabu. So, Tibost's response to his wife's letter informing him that she would not be returning to Ugabu was a resounding "hell, no." [E: I will give you anything you want if you can find me a valid historical source that his response was "hell no." Otherwise, CUT THIS OUT]
Iason's widow Fontini (who had been appointed to rule the Vinkus as co-regent because the new king, her son Sim, was just fourteen years old), refused to comply with Tibost's demands that she force her sister-in-law to go back.
The Ugabians claimed that this was a violation of the marriage agreement organised between Queen Sarisha and Queen Merhild and that Ugabu should immediately separate from the Vinkus. Fontini argued that the agreement had been met- an heir had been produced and if Tibost was so eager for his wife to return, he must consider the marriage a happy one. Therefore, the kingdoms should remain united. Tibost didn't like that argument, because he was an asshole. [E: Again, you were doing so well]
They entered negotiations, which lasted ten years before completely breaking down when Ugabu declared war on the Vinkus in 1642. "If this is what divorce court looks like, I am thankful I have neither married nor practiced law," King Sim wrote in his diary in 1640 (I don't know how to cite that properly)[Check the citation guide I gave you!]. And like, same. [E: I literally hate you. We're breaking up.]
The war lasted seventy-seven years, throughout the reign of three monarchs. And it was nearly two hundred years after the war ended before Vinkun royals next returned to visit Ugabu. While there has been peace between Ugabu and the Vinkus since the end of the war in 1719, it is logical to argue that if Queen Sarisha hadn't organised the marriage between Missa and Tibost, the war never would have happened.
There had been peace between the two for centuries before Queen Sarisha's reign, when Queen Liron had signed the peace treaty to end the War of Flint in 1325. So it wasn't like Missa and Tibost marrying was easing tensions.
From a political standpoint, Sarisha's foreign policies were driven by her own motivations, as opposed to what was most beneficial for the Vinkus.
"Sarisha had learned from the stories of King Eryk's failures to create a Vinkun empire. Where force had once failed, Sarisha had determined that love was the secret to success. She was sure that this would be the start of a Vinkun empire that would stand for generations to come." (Bemrose, 1926)
This might have worked if King Tibost loved his wife as much as he loved [text has been crossed out so furiously the original is indecipherable]. [E: NO. No. No. No.]
[E: Expand this] All in all, Sarisha's Marriage Agreements could be deemed successful in regards to the foreign policies established during her reign; but were ultimately unsuccessful in achieving her goal of a Vinkun empire, one that would be prosperous and cement her place in Vinkun history. And I hate writing conclusions for essays. Thanks for reading? [E: I'm never reading another draft for you ever again. Fix this.]
The End
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